Waka Flocka Flame - DuFlocka Rant 2

If you don't like 808 drums that rattle your entire house, mechanical hi-hats that roll at unfathomable speeds, and melodies that are drenched in anxiety and paranoia, turn back now. Waka Flocka Flame's new mixtape, DuFlocka Rant 2, is not for you, but you most likely already knew that. If you are, however, familiar with the style Waka and producer Lex Luger have popularized and are a fan of the sonic onslaught of cathartic aggression, this mixtape will prove to be as enjoyable as you were probably expecting.

When going into a mixtape like this, especially with an artist like Waka Flocka Flame, very few things are going to be surprising. He still isn't lyrically impressive, his voice borders on a scream half of the time he's rapping, and he's full of fury and aggression. The hooks consist of superficial and catchy chants about materialistic possessions, drugs, women, and threats to people who oppose Waka. With that in mind, the content paired with the production makes for an enticing adventure through the mind of Waka Flocka Flame, a mind that's not for the weak of heart.

Immediately when you press play, Waka reminds you that the music you're about to hear leans on an aesthetic he brought to the forefront of the rap game with Flockaveli. This was just over two years ago, and since then its easy to see why he claims “hip-hop changed” with that album; the Lex Luger style of trap has exploded. Artists like Gucci Mane, Juicy J, Rick Ross, and many others have blown up with this style. Sure, Waka may not have been the first, but he and Gucci popularized it in a way that only Rick Ross has been able to parallel. After his intro speech, “Stay Hood” is able to embody the gist of what Waka's music is all about in one song. “I'ma stay hood until the day that I die” is the refrain, and his attitude is mean and hungry. The beat, handled by Lex himself, hits as hard as Waka's harsh voice and surprisingly serves as the perfect backdrop for the most invigorated Lil Wayne we've seen in a while to deliver his best verse in a very long time. If the track doesn't do anything for you, turn the mixtape off. It only gets heavier.

The rest of the guest spots are typical for a Waka project, with Gucci Mane making an appearance on “Fell” to show why the combination of him, Waka, and Lex Luger on the same track is nearly unmatchable. Fellow Brick Squad artists Wooh Da Kid, Young Thug, and Young Scooter all show up throughout the mixtape, though their verses are completely interchangeable and each fails to make any real impression. Lex Luger handles production on a few tracks while other producers like SouthSide, TM88, and more provide beats that stay true to the production approach of Lex, though each put their own spin on the sound. This keeps the tape from being overly redundant for the most part, though a few of the songs tend to blend together at times. Throughout the course of the 17 tracks, the mixtape rarely lets up, and as such the project is going to be easier to digest in multiple sittings. It's a quality that doesn't detract from the tape in the least bit as nothing is sequenced in a way that makes jumping in at a certain spot leaving you feeling like you've missed something.

DuFlocka Rant 2 is a Waka Flocka Flame mixtape. Plain and simple. At this point you should know if you'll enjoy or hate what he has to put out without having to hear it, but lucky for those of us that fall into the former category of people, Waka is putting out a consistent stream of music that has yet to waver in quality. DuFlocka Rant 2, while not drastically different from his previous output, is a lot more focused and concise than the typical Flaka tape. More importantly, it shows that he's still an intimidating force in today's hip-hop scene, and he's not letting up any time soon.